Fall Down 7 Times, Get Up 8 by Dave Park "The Maverick Builder"

When I am invited to speak at events I always prepare myself for the same questions.

What is tht formula for Success?

I smile and they frown.

"It's quite simple" I say, really. "Double your rate of failure."

I then pause for effect as they hem and haw.

"You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't at all. You can be discouraged by failure - or you can learn from it."

I finish with "Go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because, remember, that's where you will find success."

So here are a couple quotes on mistakes:

"If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner."

Hallulah Bankhead

"An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field."

Niels Bohr

"She had an unequalled gift... of squeezing big mistakes into small opportunities."

Henry James

"To avoid situations in which you might make mistakes may be the biggest mistake of all."

Peter McWilliams

Many people rush into a business thinking it will be easy to run. They soon realize that it is not easy as it is envisioned by most optimists. A successful business is a finely tuned machine. Here are 7 common mistakes to avoid:

1. Not having clear objectives: Many business people start a business without clear objectives. They fail to set realistic goals for their marketing and consequently set themselves up for failure. It is important to make a list of goals and objectives based on a quarterly time line. If you do not have company goals and objectives you are like a car driving without a road map. Make sure all employees are briefed on company objectives. When your employees are not properly prepared you will not be able to achieve company objectives.

2. Neglecting to analyse your potential customers is a dangerous mistake: It can lead to many problems. When you do not analyse your customers wants and needs you do not know what products and services to develop for them. This will lead to targeting the wrong market and neglecting to understand your own niche market. It is important for any business to do their marketing analysis so that you can target your market and maximise your sales.

3. Not testing: By not testing your sales copy and places you advertise with split testing your advertising, you will be losing sales. Split testing is simple to do but many businesses fail to do this. This results in a lot of wasted time and effort. If you do not test your ad copy and marketing promotions you will not have a proper idea of the ads and promotions that are pulling and what is not working. It is simple to do by placing 2 ads for the same product in a publication or website etc. You can then see which one is performing the best.

4. Not budgeting: Budgeting is extremely important in business. Your business should never run out of money. This is especially true with your marketing and advertising ventures. It is important to have a monthly or quarterly budget for your marketing. Within that budget put aside money for each promotion you will be doing. Start small, test and then build on successes. This will allow you to always stay solvent and have enough for promotions.

5. Giving up too soon: Companies go out of business at an alarming rate these days. One of the reasons is that the owners give up too soon. Just when success might be just around the corner they give up and decide to close the business down. In exactly the same fashion marketing promotions can fail. You need to give your promotions at least 3 months before you decide to scrap them. Some promotions will take longer than others to bring results. As always, test all marketing tactics before you launch a larger promotion. Patience is one of the hallmarks of business and you need to implement it.

6. Poor sales copy: How often have you wanted a product but when you read the sales page you had serious doubts? Poor unprofessional ad copy will cost you sales. In fact without good sales copy you will not be able to sell effectively at all. It is critical to your business to get this right. If necessary get an experienced copywriter to do this. It is worth the investment, as you will see returns when you make sales.

7. Not screening your employees carefully: It is very important not to rush into this. There is no dearth of people needing employment but you need to screen them carefully before hiring. One rude customer service agent can cost you customers. Do not take this type of risk. You want to preserve the integrity of your company at all times and screening employees is the way to achieve this. You will then be able to build a core of loyal professional employees that will be an asset to the company.

Maverick says, "Learn from others mistakes, because life is too short to make them all yourself!"

Maverick Rules!

Advantage Inspection Raleigh

. . . performs the Nation's Best Home Inspection and provides the Nation's Only "No Denied Claims Warranty" available in the industry. For the last 18 years, Advantage Inspection has been the deciding factor for the people we serve: Buyers, Sellers, Real Estate Agents and Home Inspectors. Advantage Inspection Raleigh serves Raleigh, Durham and the Triangle area.

Dave Park Advantage Home Inspection Raleigh"more than just an inspection company!"www.adrdu.com

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